Macallan toasts new £100m distillery

James Bond's favourite whisky is shaken not stirred

Scottish spirits group Edrington is sure to be raising a glass or three of The Macallan Scotch whisky, after announcing yesterday that it is planning to invest over £100m in a new distillery and visitor centre in Speyside, Scotland.

Demand for the 189-year-old malt has been shaken up by its appearance in Bond film Skyfall last year, as wannabe spies the world over swapped vodka martinis for a dram of harder stuff after Javier Bardem’s villain referred to a 1962 Macallan as 007’s favourite drink.

Edrington, which also owns The Famous Grouse whisky advertised by that bemused-looking bird, said in a statement that it expects the "iconic new distillery" to deliver more capacity to sell to the increasing numbers of scotch lovers in established and new international markets.

Work on the project is due to start in autumn next year, with a slated finish date of Spring 2017, subject to receiving planning consent. Whisky-making could be getting some pretty snazzy surroundings, given that Millenium Dome and Lloyds Building architect Richard Rogers' firm, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, are behind it.

Edrington is the latest company to get giddy over Scotch, after drinks giant Diageo announced a new £50m distillery at Teaninich in the Scottish highlands and £30m of new production facilities in Speyside in April, part of a £1bn, 5 year investment plan in malt whisky.

"This is a confident investment in the future of The Macallan and its home on Speyside," Edrington chief executive Ian Curle said.

MT hopes that Edrington doesn’t quaff too much of its own malts and get over-excited by all this distilling.